The Broken Isles (WC3)
The Battle of Suramar was an engagement fought between Maiev Shadowsong's Sentinels and Illidan Stormrage's Naga, in the wake of Illidan's escape from Kalimdor and his raid upon the Tomb of Sargeras. Prelude After his consumption of the Skull of Gul'dan and his resulting banishment from Night Elf realm, Illidan was approached by Kil'jaeden and offered a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the Burning Legion; destroy the Lich King, and the arch-demon promised to grant him all the power he could possibly wish for. Aware that such a task would require strong allies, Illidan summoned Lady Vashj and her Naga from the depths of the ocean, and with their help made good his escape to the Broken Isles. Here he began his search for a powerful artifact known as the Eye of Sargeras, with which he could destroy Ner'Zhul once and for all. However, despite the Naga rearguard's best efforts the Warden Maiev Shadowsong with her lieutenant Naisha managed to tail the Demon Hunter across the ocean with a small force of Sentinels. Landing upon islands not shown on any of the Night Elves' charts, Maiev realised to her shock that she had arrived in the ancient city of Suramar, sunken beneath the waves thousands of years ago. Pondering upon this she and her companions began to search the islands for signs of Illidan. The Battle Drak'thul's Torment Shortly after they made landfall Maiev discovered an ancient Orc by the name of Drak'thul. He told Maiev that if she silenced the ghosts which had been tormenting him now for many years, he would tell her his tale. Maiev did so, halting a never-ending battle between the skeletal remains of the Stormreaver, Blackrock and Twilight's Hammer Clan, and Drak'thul told the Warden how Gul'dan had raised the islands twenty years previously in order to claim Sargeras's powers for himself. Instead, he found death at the hands of the demons which guarded the Titan's tomb. Maiev was outraged by this information, and told Drak'thul he deserved a far worse fate for his part in the evil necromancer's scheme than the one the Fates had bestowed upon him. Drak'thul quietly agreed. The Tomb of Sargeras After making this chilling discovery Maiev came under determined assault from Illidan's Naga, who had set up their encampments around Sargeras's Tomb. The Warden managed to pierce their defences, and led a small force of Sentinels into the tomb itself, hoping to stop Illidan before he claimed the terrible demon's powers. Inside, they were confronted by Vashj, who told Maiev of the true nature of the Naga. They also discovered runes written by Gul'dan himself as he searched for the Eye of Sargeras, as well as his miserable end. Eventually they discovered the central chamber of the tomb, only to find that Illidan had already claimed the Eye. Taunting Maiev, Illidan used the artifact's demonic powers to bring the tomb crashing down around the Sentinels, hoping to imprison the Warden in much the same way she had him. Maiev managed to use her magic to escape, however Naisha and her remaining troops were not so lucky, and were buried alive. Wrath of the Betrayer Greviously wounded, Maiev crawled back to her base camp to find her small force surrounded and outnumbered by the Naga, who were intent on destroying their most hated enemies. Knowing they could not possibly fight their way out, Maiev instead sent a Runner to get to the coast and then to the Night Elf forests, to summon reinforcements in the shape of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, whilst she and her remaining warriors held out against the snake-people's assault. In the confusion of battle, however, Maiev was cut off from the rest of her forces and instead had to help the Runner sneak past Serena Scarscale's watery fortifications and aid her escape to the sea. Without Maiev's aid, the Naga were eventually able to break the Night Elf defences and force them to a final redoubt with no resources, where Maiev joined them for a last stand. Aftermath The Illidari were successful in capturing the Eye of Sargeras and in defeating Maiev's Sentinels. However, they failed to destroy them entirely, and were unable to stop the Warden's Runner reaching Kalimdor and informing Malfurion of his brother's actions, a development which would ultimately foil Illidan's plans against the Lich King and destroy the Eye of Sargeras for good.